Claim: Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered banks to implement a ‘shalwar kameez’ dress code. Fact: Khan made the comment informally, perhaps as a joke, and did not issue any orders or endorse the idea in any official capacity. On 30 December 2021, Pakistani news website Global Village Space (GVS) published a report headlined, “Wear […]
Claim: Germany has launched the world’s first transparent car. Fact: The world’s first transparent car has not been unveiled by the German car company, ZF Group. Fact or Fiction? On 31 December 2021, Facebook page Unknown Knowledge shared this photo claiming it to be of the world’s first transparent car launched by Germany. The post […]
Claim: The UK’s Santander Bank mistakenly deposited millions of pounds across 75,000 consumer accounts. Fact: The British bank has, in fact, erroneously deposited £130 million across 75,000 consumer accounts. However, the payments were only made into the accounts of Santander’s UK customers. [People’s bank balance shot up, check your accounts, bank mistakenly deposits millions across […]
Claim: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was “expelled from the Conference of Islamic Countries” over his condemnation of the Shree Ram Temple’s construction in Ayodhya, India. The Saudi Arabian king kicked him out and was lauded by other Islamic countries. Fact: Khan did not attend the 47th CFM meeting in 2020 that was mentioned in […]
Claim: The Newsweek magazine’s cover page for its December 2021 issue features bold text stating that “Pakistan proved the prophecy right” — referring to an October 2007 cover — since “it has been declared the most intolerant nation in the world”. Fact: The Newsweek magazine published four issues in December 2021; none of them featured […]
Claim: A video is being circulated with the claim that Prime Minister Imran Khan has suffered a serious injury — possibly a spinal cord fracture — following a fall from an elevator. According to the claims, Khan has been hospitalized and will undergo an operation. Fact: Khan has not been recently injured; the video is […]
Claim: Pakistan received $70 million in stolen antiquities after US billionaire Michael Steinhardt surrendered his collection. Fact: None of Steinhardt’s stolen antiquities are of Pakistani origin and the country and no artifacts were returned to Pakistan in December 2021. On 10 December 2021, Soch Fact Check received the link to an Instagram post stating that […]
Claim: Modern zoological research suggests that crows have a proper court system with specific punishments for particular crimes. The court system protects individuals and/or groups from oppression. The claims compare the so-called courts of the crows to Shariah, or Islamic law. Fact: Animals do not hold court or cast sentences, according to avian ethologist Dr […]
Claim: In his speech at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting regarding Afghanistan held in Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “Human rights and women rights are different.” Fact: Posts sharing the quote are misrepresenting Khan’s words and missing context; referring to Afghanistan, the prime minister actually said, […]
Claim: Pakistan has been labeled the “most dangerous nation” on the cover page of Newsweek’s latest issue. The cover features an image of screaming clerics. Fact: While Newsweek did publish the cover in question, it did so in 2007, almost 14 years ago. On 6 December 2021, what was claimed to be the cover page […]
Claim: Belarus has announced visa-free entry for Pakistanis. Fact: Belarus has introduced a new visa system for Pakistanis. To qualify, Pakistanis traveling to Belarus must have a valid multiple-entry visa of one of the European Union or the Schengen Area countries, as well as return tickets through airports in any of six specific cities, at […]
Claim: A video purportedly taken from the Burj Khalifa depicts Cyclone Shaheen thundering off the coast of Dubai. Fact: The video is in fact a rendering created by digital artist Brent Shavnore in 2019 using a still image captured in Miami, Florida in the United States. On 16 October 2021, a 24-second clip surfaced on […]